SEIDE

a short film by Elnura Osmonalieva

About

SYNOPSIS

Young Seide lives in a secluded mountain village in the heart of Kyrgyzstan. She loves her freedom to ride her horse, the closest soul she has, and enjoys playing with the village boys. When she is faced with the prospect of an arranged marriage, her family decides to honour the tradition and kill Seide’s horse for the wedding celebration. Upset and feeling voiceless, Seide tries to understand her family’s decision but cannot let her horse be killed. Unfortunately, the horse, like herself, has no way of escape. Alone and broken hearted Seide stays in her old but forever changed world.

DIRECTOR’s COMMENT
I set out to make a sad beautiful film about growing up and having to make hard choices. As we grow, with increasing frequency, life gives us hard choices and we often need to choose between stepping into the unknown or staying with what you know and feel tied to. Often, we are not able to walk away because of our affections and we stay hostage to our fears.

Backstage

It’s a Soviet tradition to write the title of the film and the name of the director on a plate and then break it by hitting it against the leg of the camera tripod before the first take. Crew members pick pieces of the plate to take them home as memory. Then the start is celebrated by opening champagne and then the crew makes its first shot. Art Director Myrsini preparing the plate.

Director Elnura Osmonalieva and DP Chananun Chotrungroj.

Work moment.

Getting ready to film the actress crossing the river on the horse.

Director and actress Razha Alieva prepping for the next shot.

One of the best parts of the work – getting to work in a beautiful setting with wonderful hard working people.

Behind the scenes.

Shovels are a must on a winter set.

Framing.

Set up.

The cold shoot of the wedding scene in a house with no heating.

Director of Photography Chananun Chortrungroj is gorgeous in her work.

Cast

Kaliman Kalybek kyzy (Seide) I am a college student in Bishkek and I have never traveled outside of my home country, Kyrgyzstan. Once in January 2015 I had a very vivid dream: I was an actress on a film set and my job was to ride a horse. Two days later I got a phone call from Stanbek Toichubaev who invited me to casting and a couple of days later I was on set training with a wonderful smart horse. It was truly amazing. I was raised in a family that lives very much like Seide’s. Like Seide’s family, my family finds it hard to pay for my studies, but luckily for me, my parents are willing to do their best and support me through college instead of telling me to get married.

Kanat Abdrakhmanov (Father) I was raised by a very strong mother who supported my decision to train as an actor although actors do not make much money. Luckily, I also set out to train as a stuntman and had a great teacher. So, in my film work I am often able to combine the two. Last year I was in Malaysia acting as a double for the lead actor of the Marco Polo TV series. It was a great experience. In January 2015 director Elnura Osmonalieva invited me to join her cast of SEIDE and was very happy to learn that I was also a stuntman and a horse wrangler. That is how I got to train that wonderful horse and I believe it did very well. I had three days to do what would normally take me two months of work.

Razha Alieva (Grandmother) I am a mother of five and a grandmother of thirteen. I am a former nurse who changed into a guest house manager and hosts tourists from all over the world in her home. Previously I had modeled for photography because people think I have a classic motherly face. Director Elnura Osmonalieva is my daughter-in-law and when she invited me to try acting on her set I agreed. It is exciting to be trying something new at my age. I help Elnura with her kids a lot so she can make films.

Stanbek Toichubaev (father’s friend) Many years ago I was a farmer, I drove farm equipment and grew potatoes. Then I found interest in interior design and opened my own guest house in the mountains. Once I was offered a role in a short film I was helping to make. After that I learned I could be a great producer – I know everybody where I live, I am great at organizing and I love being part of a film crew. Now I act in film and many producers ask for my help when they film in my area. I organized casting and location scouting for SEIDE in a matter of hours.

Contacts

Crew

Elnura Osmonalieva (Writer-Director-Producer)Elnura is a 34-year-old film director and writer from Kyrgyzstan, Central Asia. Elnura received the Kyrgyz National Film Award “Snow Leopard” for her documentary Kyrgyzland (2013) and “The Best Auteur Film of Central Asia” for her short Farewell (2009). Her documentary Almaz (2010) was a hit in Kyrgyzstan screening on all TV channels and at all cinema theaters. She is a mother of four and an advocate for art and education. Elnura is currently pursuing her MFA in Film at the New York University Tisch School of the Arts where she is a recipient of Steven J. Ross fellowship.

Chananun Chotrungroj (Director of Photography) Chananun recently shot the feature film “Karaoke Girl,” as co-director of photography with Sandi Sissel which premiered at the 2012 Rotterdam Film Festival. She received “Best Cinematography” for her first short film, “Sink,” at the 2010 Singapore Short Film Awards, “Best Director” for short film “ Home Coming” at the 2011 Fusion Film Festival, “Best Cinematography” for “Karaoke Girl”at Bangkok Critics Assembly Awards 2014 and “Best Cinematography” from Starpics Thai Film Awards 2014. Her latest works are feature film “Yosemite,” which premiered at Slamdance Film festival 2015 and “Lerato” that got selected for competition at SXSW 2015. She is currently pursuing an MFA in Film at NYU, where she was awarded the Ang Lee Fellowship and Department Fellowship and received Nestor Almendros Award for Outstanding Cinematography by a woman 2013 and 2015.

Tolondu Toichubaev (Executive Producer) Tolondu is a businessman and philanthropist based in New York City and Kyrgyzstan. He invests in projects in the sphere of medicine and education in China, Russia, Kazakhstan and Ukraine. Tolondu is a co-founder of Oy-Art film production company and the president of the biannual Auteur Film Festival in Kyrgyzstan. He is one of the authors of the “10+” film development program for Kyrgyzstan. He is a founder of contemporary arts TOLON MUSEUM and Bilimkana Foundation that provides quality education where it is otherwise unavailable via schools in rural Kyrgyzstan. Tolondu is married to director Elnura Osmonalieva.

Charlotte Rabate (Producer) Charlotte Rabate is a French writer/director who lives in New York. Her short film “Lucille in the Sky” premiered at the Edinburgh Film Festival where it received a special mention. Her latest short film “Man”, shot in Thailand, won the Amazing Thai Film Challenge. As producer, Charlotte’s film “Love Comes Later” premiered at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, and is presently being developed into a feature film. Charlotte earned a Bachelor’s degree from the London School of Economics and a Master of Fine Arts in Filmmaking from NYU Tisch School of the Arts, with generous support from the W.T.C. Johnson Scholarship and the Tisch Scholarship.

Stanbek Toichubaev (Associate Producer) Stanbek is a founder and chief manager of Ashu Guesthouse in Kyrgyzstan whose acting debut in director Elnura Osmonalieva’s short film FAREWELL brought him roles in a number of Kyrgyz films, including SEIDE. Stanbek is a talented producer and actor and his guest house ASHU in Chon-Kemin national park in Kyrgyzstan proved itself to be an excellent hub for a large film crew.

Andrei Nikitenko (Director of Sound) Andrei studied at the St. Petersburg University of Cinema and Television. He has over 10 years of work experience as director of sound in over 15 films. Currently he lives in Saint Petersburg and is hoping to work internationally.

Myrsini Aristidou (Art Director) Born in Limassol Cyprus, Myrsini is currently receiving her MFA in Directing at NYU Tisch School of the Arts. In 2013 she completed her BFA in Film and History of Art, at Pratt Institute in New York. Her latest works include the short film Semele (2015), official selection of TIFF, the short film Patterns (2014), a short documentary shot in Argentina Ma’ (2014), the award winning short film Not Now (2013) (ISFFC 2014 – Best Directing Award), and the short documentary Lost Hopes (2011).

Victor Opekin (Editor) Victor studied at the Yaroslavl State University in Russia, worked on television and production studios. Directed two films and was a DP on several. Has been working in the industry since 2003. Currently he is based in Saint Petersburg where he lives with his wife and three kids.

Director

DIRECTOR’s BIOGRAPHY Elnura Osmonalieva was born in Kyrgyzstan, the heart of Central Asia, in 1981. She attended a Soviet school and later studied in the US just a few years following the disintegration of the Soviet Union. She is an advocate for art and education. Her works explore human experiences in the circumstances of poverty and strong societal pressures. Currently she is based in New York where she is a graduate film student at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University.

FILMOGRAPHYFarwell, short, Best Central Asian Auteur Film in 2009Watch on Vimeo